A Plan for Teaching 
Beginners to Read 



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A PLAN FOR 

Teaching Beginners to Read 






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Copyright, 1920 - 1922 



CHARLOTTE B. SWIFT 



©C1A688828 
NOV -6 1922 



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Realizing from my experience in teaching primaiy reading 
that preliminary work is necessary before putting a book into 
the hands of the child, I have tried this plan for beginners 
and have found it successful. 

Print is used entirely. The capital letters measure 21/2 
inches, and the small ones 1% inches. Being large, the print 
is readily seen by the class. 

I have divided my plan into three parts: 

I. (1) The vocabulary. 
(2) Single sentences. 

n. Two sentences related in thought. 

m. The final charts. 



PART I. 

1. The vocabulary. 

In developing new words the vocabulary is always used 
to form sentences. 

Each word of the vocabulary is printed on a sheet of stiff 
paper. 

I begin by asking the children, ''What do you do with youT- 
eyes ? ' ' After obtaining the answer ' ' See, ' ' I ask one child, 
"Who sees with your eyes?" He answers, "I see." I tell 
him I will show him how that looks on paper or in a book, 
and place the printed woi^ds I and see on the ledge of the 
blackboard in such a way as to form the sentence: 

I see. 

I have him read this for me. 

Then I show them pictures of a cat, dog, pig, hen and seed. 

These pictures I have on a roller shade, with the word which 
the picture represents printed under the picture. I take from 
the vocabulary the words corresponding to the several words 
on the sliade and give cat to a child and tell him to match it 
with a word on the >>hade. I ask him what ho sees on the 
shade. When he tells me, ''I see a cat," I tell him that I will 
show him how that looks in a book. T place a cat after I see, 
and he reads : 

I see a cat. 

I give dog to the next child. After he has found the word 
on the shade, I ask him what he sees. Wlien he tells me, 
"I see a dog," I have him place the word dog over the word 
cat and he reads: 

I see a dog. 



In like manner I develop pig, hen and seed. 

The children may form the sentences, thus vai*ying the work 
and promoting interest. 

2. Single sentences. 

I now begin to use the single sentences, which are printed 
on paper, 10 in, by 30 in. 

(a) I see a cat. 
I see a dog. 
I see a pig. 
I see a hen. 
I see a seed. 

I develop next the pronoun You and the article the. After 
they are shown in sentences formed from using the single 
words of the vocabulary, I have these sentences: 

(b) You see the cat. 
You see the dog. 
You see the pig. 
You see the hen. 
You see the seed. 

I then develop the pronoun We. After it is shown in sen- 
tences formed from the vocabulary, I have the single sen- 
tences: 

(c) We see a cat. 
We see the dog. 
We see a pig. 
We see the hen. 
We see a seed. 

There are 15 sentences in Lesson I. 



Lesson II. 

After developing the words boy, girl, man, woman, fox, 
wheat from pictures on the shade and words from the vocabu- 
lary as in Lesson I, I have the following single sentences: 

I see a boy. 
You see the girl. 
We see a man. 
I see the woman. 
You see a fox. 
We see the wheat. 

The pronouns you and me are next presented, and I have 
the following sentences: 

I see you. 
You see me. 
We see you. 

We name our girl Mary and our boy John, and we have: 

I see Mary. 
You see John. 

Adding five sentences from Ijesson I, I have: 

We see a eat. 
I see the dog. 
You see a pig. 
We see the hen. 
I see a seed. 

And Lesson II is complete with 16 sentences. 



Lesson m. 

I ask the children what they did with their eyes yesterday, 
and receive the answer, ' * Saw. ' ' The verb saw is used instead 
of see and I have the following sentences printed on the other 
side of Lesson II : 

I saw the boy. 
You saw a girl. 
We saw the man. 
I saw a woman. 
You saw the fox. 
We saw the wheat. 
I saw you. 
You saw me. 
We saw you. 
I saw Mar}^ 
You saw John. 
We saw the cat. 
I saw a dog. 
You saw the pig. 
We saw a hen. 
I saw the seed. 

Lesson IV. 

Then we have the pretend lesson, and the verb am is used : 

I am a cat. 
I am a dog. 
I am a pig. 
I am a hen. 



I am a seed. 

I am a girl, (boy says this). 

I am a boy. (girl .says this). 

I am a man. 

I am a woman. 

I am a fox. 

I am Mary. 

I am John. 

For developing the adj. big", the picture oi' a big boy is used ; 
for little, a little girl; for red, a red hen; for old, an old man. 
After asking what our boy tells us about himself we have: 

I am big. 

r nxn a big boy. 

Our girl — 
I am little. 
I am a little girl. 

Our man — 
I am old. 
T am an old man. 

Our hen — 
I am red. 
I am a red hen. 

Our seed — 
I am wheat. 
I am a wheat seed. 

The article an is also used in this lesson. 



Lesson V. 

The follo^ving sentences are printed on the other side of 
Lesson IV: 

I am a big cat. 

I am a little dog. 

I am a big pig. 

I am a little red hen. 

I am a little wheat seed. 

I am a little boy. 

I am a big girl. 

I am a big man. 

I am an old woman. 

I am a red fox. 

I am a big woman. 

I am a little old man. 

Lesson VL 
Single Sentences. 
I see the little cat. 
You see a big dog. 
We see the little pig. 
I see a little red hen. 
You see the wheat seed. 
We see a little boy. 
I see the big girl. 
You see an old man. 
We see a little old woman. 
I see an old fox. 



Lesson VII. 

Tlie following sentences are printed on the other side of 
Lesson VI: 

I saw a big cat. 

You saw the little dog. 

We saw a big pig. 

I saw an old hen. 

You saw the little wheat seed. 

We saw a big boy. 

I saw the little girl. 

You saw a little old man. 

We saw an old woman. 

I saw the red fox. 

Lesson VIII. 

The new verb is have. The following words are developed 
from pictures on the shade and the vocabulary formod into 
sentences as in Lesson I: rat, ox, fire, children, squirrel, goat, 
rabbit, water, stick, bread, bird. 

The adj. some is also used in this lesson. 

Single Sentences. 
I have the little rat. 
You have an old ox. 
We have a red fire. 
I have the little children. 
You have a big squirrel. 
We have an old goat. 
I have a big rabbit. 



You have some water. 
We have the red stick. 
I have some bread. 
You have a red bird. 

Lesson IX. 

The new verb is found. The following sentences are 
printed on the other side of Lesson VIII: 

I found a big rat. 

You found the red ox. 

We found a big fire. 

I found some children. 

You found an old squirrel. 

We found a big goat. 

I found a little rabbit. 

You found some water. 

We found the big stick. 

I found some bread. 

You found the little bird. 

Lesson X. 

For developing the word run, I have on tlie shade the pic- 
ture of a girl running; for sing, a boy singing; for fiy, a Ijird 
flying. After asking the children what the girl says, and 
receiving the answer: 

"I can run." 

The sentence is formed from the words of the vocabulary: 
The boy sa^^s: 

"I can sing." 

The bird says: 

•'lean fly." 



Single Sentences. 



I can run. 
You can run. 
We can run. 
I can sing. 
You can sing. 
We can sing. 
I can fly. 
You can fly. 
We can fly. 
I can see. 
You can see. 
We can see. 



Lesson XI. 



Tlie new word is and. The following sentences are printed 
on the other side of Lesson X. 

I can run and sing. 

You can sing and fly. 

^\Ve can fly and run. 

I can fl}^ and sing. 

You can run and fly. 

Y^e can sing and run. 

I can sing and fl}^ 

You can fly and run. 

Wo can run and sing. 

I can see you. 

You can see me. 

We can see you. 



Lesson XII. 
The new word is not. 



Single Sentences. 



I can not run. 
You can not run. 
We can not run. 
I can not sing. 
You can not sing. 
We can not sing. 
I can not fly. 
You can not fly. 
We can not fly. 
I can not see. 
You can not see. 
We can not see. 



Lesson XIII. 



The new word is did. The following sentences are printed 
on the other side of Lesson XII. 

I did not run. 
You did not sing. 
We did not fly. 
I did not see you. 
You did not see me. 
We did not run and fly. 
I did not sing and run. 
You did not fly and sing. 
We did not see the dog. 



I did not see the cat. 
You did not have the pig. 
We did not have the hen. 

Lesson XIV. 

The new words are A, An, The. 

Single Sentences. 
A cat can run. 
A bird can fly. 
A girl can sing. 
An old dog can not run. 
An old bird can not fly. 
An old man can not sing. 
The ox did not run. 
The bird did not fly. 
The woman did not sing. 

Lesson XV. 

The new words are to and with. The following sentences 
are printed on the other side of Lesson XLV. 

A girl can sing to the woman. 
A dog can run with the boy. 
A bird can fly to the man. 
An old bird can not fly to you. 
An old man can not run with me. 
An old woman can not sing to me. 



The dog did not run with you. 

The bird did not fly to the girl. 

The man did not sing with the woman. 

Part II. 
Lesson XVI. 
Two sentences related in thought: 

I am Mary. 
I am little. 

I am John. 
I am big. 

I am a little boy. 
I can run and sing. 

I am a big girl. 
I can not fly. 

I am an old woman. 
I can not run and sing. 

I see John and Mary. 
John and Mary can run. 

You see a dog. 

You can run with the dog. 

We see an old man. 

We can ran to the old man. 



I saw a bird. 

Tlie bird can fly and sing. 

I saw a big fire. 

I did not run to the fire. 

You saw a little goat. 
The goat did not see you. 

We saw a cat. 

The cat did not have a rat. 

You saw some children. 

The children did not have the bread and water. 

A boy saw a squirrel. 

Tlie squirrel did not run to the boy. 

A girl saw a rabbit. 

The rabbit did not run with the girl. 

An old woman found a red hen. 
The hen did not have a wheat seed. 

An old man found a pig. 

The pig did not see the old man. 

I found the ox. 

The ox did not run with me. 

You found the dog. 

The dog did not inin with you. 

I have a dog. 

The do^r can run to me. 



You have a bird. 

The bird can fly to you. 

I saw a girL 

The girl found a squirrel. 

You saw the fox. 

The fox found the rabbit. 

We saw an old woman. 

The old woman found a goat. 

Lesson XVII. 

For developing ran away from, I have on the shade the 
picture of a dog running away from a boy. After asking 
what the dog did and receiving the answer: "The dog ran 
away from the boy," I fonn this sentence with the words of 
the vocabulary. In the single sentences I use ran away, 
ran from, and ran away from. 

Single Sentences. 
The girl ran away. 
The boy ran awaj'". 
The hen ran away. 
The children ran away. 
The rabbit ran from the fox. 
The man ran from the fire. 
Mary ran from John. 
The rat ran away from the cat. 
The squirrel ran away from the dog. 
The hen ran away from the woman. 
I ran away from you. 



The goat ran away from the boy. 
The girl ran away from the ox. 
The boy ran to the man. 
The girl ran to the woman. 
The bird can fly away from you. 

Lesson XVni. 
The new word is after. 

Single Sentences. 
The girl ran after some bread. 
The boy ran after a stick. 
The hen ran after the seed. 
The children ran after the wheat. 
The fox ran after the rabbit. 
The man ran after some water. 
John ran after Mary. 
The cat ran after the rat. 
The dog did not run after the squirrel. 
The woman did not run after the lien. 
You ran after me. 
The boy did not run after the goat. 
The ox did not run after the girl. 
The boy ran with the water. 
The girl ran with the bread. 
You can not fly after the bird. 

Lesson XVIII is printed on the back of Lesson XVII. 
Thus, by turning the paper, one has two sentences related 
in thou^fi'ht. 



XVII. The girl ran away. 

XVIII. Tlie girl ran after some bread. 

Lesson XIX. 

Single Sentences. 

I see a girl. 
You see the boy. 
AVe saw a woman. 
I saw a man. 
You found a seed. 
We found a hen. 
I have a cat. 

The new words are She, He, It, is, has, was, had. 

For example, I take the sentence: 
I see a girl. 

Place it on the ledge of the blackboard and then have a 
child read it. 

Select from the vocabulary: 

She 

is 

little 

Place these words in a sentence beside the first one and 
have a child tell something about the girl. 

She is little. 

You see a boy. 
He has a dog. 



We saw a woman. 
She was old. 

I saw a man. 
He had a pig. 

You found a seed. 
It v/as a wheat seed. 

We found a hen. 
She had a seed. 

I have a cat. 
The cat has a rat. 



Two Sentences. 



I see a bird. 

It is little and red. 

You see an old man. 
He is little. 

We see a seed. 
It is a wheat seed. 

I saw a goat. 
It was a big goat. 

You saw a boy. 
He was a little boy. 

We saw a woman. 
She was little and old. 



I saw the tire. 
The fire was big. 

I have a pig. 
It is big. 

You have a goat. 
The goat is little. 

We have an ox. 

The ox is big and red. 

I see the girl. 

The girl has some bread. 

You see an old man. 
lie has a big pig. 

AVe see the woman. 
She has a little cat. 

I see Mary. 
Mary has a lien. 

We see the fox. 

The fox has a squirrel. 

I saw the hen. 

She had a wheat seed. 

You saAv the man. 
He had an ox. 

We saw the dog. 
The dog has a stick. 



I saw the boy. 

He had some water. 

You saw John. 
John had a dog. 

I found the rabbit. 
It was a little rabbit. 

You found the seed. 
It was wheat. 

We found a stick. 
It was big. 

I found the cat. 
The cat had a rat. 

You found the dog. 
The dog had a squirrel. 

We found the children. 

The children had some bread. 



Lesson XX. 

New words — will, shall, plant, cut, thresh, grind, niake, 
eat, it. 

Single Sentences. 

I will plant the seed. 
You shall cut the wheat. 
We will tliresh it. 



I will grind the wheat. 
You shall make the bread. 
I will cut it. 
We will eat the bread. 



L-esson XXI. 

The boy shall plant the wheat. 

The man shall cut it. 

The boy shall thresh the w^heat. 

The man shall grind it. 

The woman shall make the bread. 

The girl shall cut it. 

The children shall eat the bread. 



Lesson XXII. 



New words — Wlio, said. 

"Who will plant the seed? 

The man said, "I will plant it." 

"Who will cut the wheat? 
The boy said, "I will cut it." 

Who will thresh the wheat? 
The man said, "I will thresh it." 



Wlio will grind the wheat? 

The boy said, ''I will grind it." 

Who will make the bread? 

The woman said, ''I wall make it." 

"Who will eat the bread? 

The children said, "We will eat it." 



Lesson XXIII. 



New word — made. 

Who made the brea.d? 

You did not make it. 

I made it. 

"V\nio will cut the bread? 

I will. 

Wlio will eat the bread? 

We will eat it. 

We did not make the bread. 
Who made it? 
The woman made it. 
Wlio will eat the bread? 
The children will eat it. 



Part III. 

Pinal Charts. 
I see a girl. 
She is Maiy. 
Mary is a big girl. 
She has a little bird. 
The bird is red. 
The bird can fly from Mary. 

You have a dog. 

The dog is big. 

The dog found a squirrel. 

It was a little squirrel. 

It did not run from the dog. 

We have a hen. 
She is little and red. 
She found a seed. 
It was a little seed. 
It was wlieat. 

I saw a boy. 

The boy was big. 

He had a pig. 

It was a little pig. 

The pig did not run to the boy. 

Yon saw the girl. 

She was a little girl. 

She had a oat. 

It was big. 

The girl ran with the oat. 



An old man has a seed. 

It is a little seed. 

It is a wheat seed. 

The old man will plant the little wheat seed. 

He will cut and thresh the wheat. 

There. 

There was an old woman. 

She had a cat. 

The cat was big. 

The cat ran away from the old woman. 

Til ere was an old man. 

He had a dog. 

The dog was little. 

The dog did not run away from the old man. 

wanted, he, So, got. And. 

We saw a boy. 

He was John. 

He had a pig. 

The pig ran away from John. 

John wanted the pig. 

So he ran after it. 

And he got it. 

she. 

Mary had a hen. 
The hen was little and red. 
The hen ran away. 
Mary wanted the hen. 
So she ran after it. 
And she got it. 



Then. 

We see an old woman. 

The old woman is little. 

She can make bread. 

She will cut it. 

Then she will eat the bread. 

met, But, get, 

I met a boy. 

He was a big boy. 

He had a goat. 

The goat ran away. 

Then the boy ran after the goat. 

But he did not get it. 

A girl had a squirrel. 

It was a little squirrel. 

The squirrel ran away from the girl. 

The girl ran after the squirrel. 

But she did not get it. 

then. 

There was an old woman. 

She wanted some bread. 

She said, "I will make it. '• 

So she made it. 

Then she said, '*Wlio will cut it?" 

The girl said, "Not I." 

The woman said, "You shall not ent it, then.'' 



There was an old man. 

He had some wheat. 

He said, "Who will plant the wheat?" 

The girl said, ''I will not." 

The boy said, "T will, then." 

So he did. 

Then the boy said, *'I will cut, thresh and grind it." 

Get 

The dog ran away. 

The old man said, ''Get the dog." 

The girl said, "I can not." 

The boy said, ''I can." 

The man said, ''Then get it." 

And the boy got the dog. 

The cat ran away. 

Tlie old woman said, "Get the cat." 

The boy said, "Not I." 

The girl said, "1 will, then." 

And she ran after it. 

But she did not get it. 

We saw a woman. 

She had some children. 

The children wanted some bread. 

So she made the bread. 

Then the children had bread to eat. 



I saw a red fox. 

The fox did not see me. 

The fox saw a hen. 

The hen ran away from the fox. 

The fox wanted the hen. 

So he got it. 

And I got the fox. 

We met an old man. 

He had a pig 

It was a little pig. 

The pig ran away from the old man. 

Then the old man ran after the pig. 

But he did not get it, 

I saw a fox and a rabbit. 

The fox saw the rabbit. 

The rabbit ran. 

So tlie fox ran after tlio rabbit. 

And he got it. 

You met a girl. 

She was little. 

She had a cat. 

The cat ran away from the girl. 

Tlien the girl ran after the cat. 

And she got it. 

drink. 

An old woman had a goat. 

It was a big goat. 

It ran away. 

The goat ran to some water. 

The goat wanted to drink the water. 



came. 



A man had an ox. 

The ox was big and red. 

The ox ran away. 

He came to some water. 

He did not drink the water. 



bite. 

The boy has a cat. 

It is a big cat. 

The cat found a rat. 

It was a little rat. 

The rat did not bite the cat. 

beat. 

A girl had a dog. 

It was an old dog. 

The girl did not beat the dog with a stick. 

The dog did not bite the girl. 

A boy has an ox. 

It is a big red ox. 

The ox will not run. 

So the boy will beat the ox. 

The man has a dog and a cat. 

The dog is big. 

The cat is little. 

The dog will bite the cat. 

Then the man will beat the dosr with a stick. 



bum, quench. 

We see a fire. 

It is a big red fire. 

The fire will burn the stick. 

Get some water to quench the fire. 

The water will quench the fire. 

The children came to the fire. 
It was a big fire. 

The fire will bum the children. 
Get some water to quench the fire. 
So the man got the water. 

The woman made some bread. 
The fire did not burn it. 
The girl will cut the bread. 
Then the children will eat it. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



